Toggle switch



Aug. 28, 1956 J. YoUHousE TOGGLE SWITCH Filed OCT.. 24. 1952 ATTORNEY5 lever in normal position.

United States Patent O TOGGLE SWITCH Joseph Youhouse, Fairfield, Conn., assignor to Casco Products Corporation, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporationof Connecticut Application October 24, 1952, Serial No. 316,671

This invention relates to toggle switches, and more particularly to a singlepo1e, double-throw battery type switch.

In some battery-operated devices it is desired to connect a current supply with either of two circuits temporarily by manipulation of a lever from a normal opencircuit position to either of two operating positions and to have the lever and the mechanism which it operates return to open-circuit position when the lever is dis engaged.

An object of this invention is to provide a switch of this character which is sturdy, reliable in its action, and yet made be made economically.

. In switches of this type, spring means are usually'employed for returning the switch lever from a closed-circuit position to open-circuit position. According to the present invention, this is accomplished by employing spring means which actuates the switch blade as well as returns both the switch blade and the operator to opencircuit position when the lever is released.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, this is accomplished by providing a base plate of insulating material, a central contact, and two side contacts-the central contact being connected to the feed line and the side contacts being connected to the motor or other parts to be controlled. A switch blade in the form of a teeter bar is fulcrumed on the central contact and carries current. Above 4this there is a rocker plate connected to the control lever and each end of the rocker plate is provided with a coil spring connecting it with the underlying por tion of the teeter bar. The coil springs are balanced so as to apply equal pressure to the teeter bar when the control lever isv in an intermediate position and the teeter bar has a slight at which, through the action of the springs, holds the teeter bar, rocker plate and control When the control lever is rocked either to the right or to the left, or up or down, according to the position in which the switch is mounted, the Itension on one spring is increased and on the other spring is decreased causing the teeter bar to move and engage the underlying contact and close the circuit. When manual pressure is removed from `the control lever, the springs again equalize and return the lever to neutral position.

The use of the balancing springs as operating springs has a double advantage of permitting a predetermined amount of pressure to be applied to the contact when the lever is thrown to the limit of its movement where it is stopped against part of its mounting means, and also permitting substantially more movement of the lever than would otherwise be required to close the circuit. This is important in a manually operated switch controlling selective operations, for the user is more readily aware of the fact that the switch has been thrown than would be the case if the movement were slight. Due to the gain in leverage Ibetween the manually operable lever and the rocker plate, the movement of the latter is such that even 2 the slightest movement of the manually operable lever will close the circuit.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

ln the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form of the present invention, that at present preferred- Figure l is a vertical section through the switch of the present invention showing the rocker plate in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l showing the rocker plate and the teeter bar in section.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 1 but showing the lever, rocker plate and teeter bar in operated position with the teeter bar in contact with one of the contact members.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the teeter bar.

' As shown in the accompanying drawing, the switch of the present invention comprises a plate 10 of insulating material. The plate 10 supports a central contact 11 and side contacts 12 and 13-the contact 11 having a terminal 14 and the contacts 12 and 13 having terminals 15. The central terminal 14 is connected to a common wire and the side terminals 15 are connected to wires to be selectively connected to the common wire. Secured in place by the contact 11 is a U-shaped frame 16, the legs 17 of which extend upwardly from the plate 10. The frame 16 carries an axle 18 on which is mounted a rocker plate 19 of insulating material. The rocker plate has a groove 20 into which extends a pin 21 carried by a lever 22, the upper end of which constitutes a manually operable handle 23.

An enclosing shell 24 has ears 25 securing it to the insulating plate 10. At its upper end the shell 24 is secured to a threaded nipple 26 by means of which the switch may be attached to an instrument panel 27 by an escutcheon nut 28 and a locking nut 29. The switch lever 22 is pivotally mountedon a pin 30 carried by and extending diametrically across the threaded nipple 26. The lower end of the lever 22 has a slot 31 in which the edges 32 of the rocker plate 19 lie and by means of which the'rocker plate is held in desired position. The rocker plate 19 has arms 33 on each side of its axle 18.

Located between the arms 33 of the rocker plate 19 4and the contacts 12 and 13 there is a teeter bar 34 having a central aperture 35 receiving a fulcrum pin 36 forming part of the contact l1. Aligned with the aperture 35, the teeter bar has flat surfaces 37 which rest upon a ilange 38 on the contact 11. Between the ends of the teeter bar and the arms 33 of the rocker plate there are coil springs 39, their upper ends tting over the arms 33 of the rocker plate and their lower ends being located by lugs 40 on the teeter bar. rEhe springs 39 are of equal strength and thus normally hold the teeter bar 34 in its horizontal position, with the llat 37 pressed down against the ange 38, and the rocker plate 19 in its intermediate position as shown in Fig. 1, and likewise the lever 22 in its intermediate position. When, however, the lever 22 is swung to one side or the other, for instance with its lower end being swung to the left as shown in Fig. 4, the spring 39 at the left side of the switch is put under compression causing the left-end of the teeter bar to descend and engage the contact 12, thus completing the circuit through itselt and the contact 11 and holding the teeter bar in circuit-closing position under predetermined spring pressure. When the control lever 22 is released, the left spring 39 will expand and cause the teeter bar to assume its neutral position shown in Fig. 1. When the switch lever 22 is swung so that its lower end moves to the right, the right spring 39 is compressed and causes the right end of the teeter bar to engage the contact 13.

Due to the slight amount of movement required of the teeter bar to bring one of its contacting surfaces 41 into n 3 engagement with one of the contacts 12 or 13, as soon as the iandle 23 is moved slightly the Contact will be engagea and the continued movement will simply cause the spring to be compressed and hold the contact closed under predetermined force-the compression of the spring otering yielding resistance to the movement of the control lever 22 in circuit closing direction.

By having the pin 21 located closer to the axle 18 of the rocker plate than to the pivot pin 30 for the control lever, the angular movement of the control lever 22 will be less than that of the rocker plate 19. Therefore, if the arcuate movement of the handle 23 is restricted as by its striking the edge of the nipple 26, sucient movement will have been imparted to the rocker plate to insure the closing of the circuit.

It will be observed that the switch of the present invention is made `orP a few simple parts which are rugged in construction, and that it does not involve any resilient leaf springs, and may be easily assembled.

To assemble the switch, the contacts and terminals are attached to the plate by riveting over the ends of the contacts 12 and 13, the bracket 16 is attached by riveting over the end of the contact 11, the teeter bar is then placed on the pin 36the rocker plate 19 having been mounted on the axle 1S of the bracket 16. The springs 39 are then compressed and inserted in position. Then the shell 2d with the nipple 26 in which the lever 2.2 has been mounted is placed over the insulating plate 10 'with the pin 21 extending into the slot 20. The ears of the shell are then laid over tight against the underside of the insulating plate 10.

To locate the bracket 16 in proper position on the insulating plate 10, it is provided with a pair lof downwardly extending lugs 42 extending into holes 43 in the plate 10.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A double-throw, single-pole battery switch having a teeter bar switch plate formed with a hole in its central portion, a terminal Contact having a fulcrum pin loosely fitting said hole to support the teeter bar and constituting therewith a pivot means for the bar; a rocker plate and pivot means therefor separate from said iirst pivot means; and a pair of coil springs between the ends of the rocker plate and teeter bar, normally holding the latter in balanced open-circuit position and constituting yieldingly resilient operating means between the rocker plate and teeter bar.

2. The invention as defined in claim l, in which there is a pair of contacts, one under each end of the teeter bar to be engaged by the latter when the teeter bar is tripped.

3. A double-throw, single-pole battery switch having a teeter bar switch blade; a rocker plate; a pair of coil springs between the ends of the rocker plate and teeter bar, normally holding the latter in balanced open-circuit position and constituting yieldingly resilient operating means between the rocker plate and the teeter bar; a base plate of insulating material; a bracket supported on the plate and pivot means thereon pivotally carrying the rocker plate; a contact terminal securing said bracket to said base plate and having means for mounting said teeter bar for pivotal movement; an enclosing casing; and an operating lever pivotally mounted in said casing and having a pin-and-slot operating connection with said rocker plate.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3, in which said casing and operating lever are metallic and said rocker plate is made of non-conducting material so as to insulate the operating lever from the rocker plate.

5. A double-throw, single-pole battery switch having an insulating base plate; a central and two side contacts secured to the plate, the central contact having a fulcrum pin; a switch bar mounted to teeter on said fulcrum pin fromopen-circuit position into electrical engagement with one or the other of said side contact units; a rocker plate of insulating material mounted above the teeter bar for movement in the same plane as the latter; a pivot for said rocker plate, separate from said fulcrum pin; a switch handle engaging the rocker plate to operate the same; and a pair of like coil springs, one located between each end of the rocker plate and the adjacent end of the switch bar to actuate the same when the switch handle is operated, said springs normally holding the teeter bar in opencircuit intermediate position when the handle is released.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 987,441 Dickinson Mar. 2l, 1911 2,203,555 Von Hoorn June 4, 1940 2,248,362 Krieger July 8, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 730,971 France May 24, 1932 443,430 Great Britain Feb. 27. 1936 

